


Erase And Replace

by The_Twisted_Kingdom



Category: Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: Angst, F/M, Faction Love, Falling In Love, First Time, Minor Character(s), Romance, Self-Discovery, Self-Doubt, Self-Hatred, Violence, amity, candor, dauntless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-25
Updated: 2014-09-30
Packaged: 2018-02-18 18:38:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2358140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Twisted_Kingdom/pseuds/The_Twisted_Kingdom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter has done many things that he wishes he could just erase. Sometimes he wishes that he could change but he doubts he has the will to do so. Oftentimes, however; all it takes is the belief of someone else to spark the fire within.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Peter walked down the stairs, wiping at his lip. He grimaced at the small smear of blood on his hand when he looked at it. He wouldn’t lose to Edward again. He’d make sure of it.  
“Peter!” his name echoed off the walls and back to him several times. It was Drew calling him, but Peter kept walking. “Pete! Wait up!”  
“Why?” he muttered, not slowing his pace. Footsteps hurried after him and Drew and Molly caught up.  
“Are you okay?” Molly asked, looking at him. “Edward really gave it to you…”  
“Thanks for that. I’d forgotten.” He muttered.  
“That guy is unbeatable.” Drew said, shaking his head. “He has no weaknesses.”  
“He does.” Peter replied, rolling his eyes.  
“Really?” Molly asked, “How would you beat him?”  
“With a stick. While he slept.” Peter spat.  
“That’s not particularly useful for our scores…” Drew mused. “But it’s not a bad idea.”  
Peter chewed on his lip. Perhaps it wasn’t a bad idea. It needed some refining, however.  
  
  
“…Right, well…” Molly said slowly “Drew and I were going to go get some tattoos before dinner. You coming?”  
“Yeah, why not…” He said, running a hand through his hair to make sure it was laying smooth.  
  
  
Later that evening when they had all found seats for dinner, Peter looked around. He spotted Christina looking at him with a grin. She then leaned toward Tris and whispered something. He watched as Tris’ eyes found his for a second before looking away. He looked down at his plate with a snarl. They were no doubt discussing his loss to Edward.  
  
  
“Ignore them.” Drew said to him.  
“I am.” He replied flatly. “You think I care what they think? I could take any one of them.”  
“Any one of them except Edward.” Molly snickered and Peter turned his eyes on her.  
“Might I remind you that I am well above you, Molly…” He watched her lip curl before she returned her attention to her food.  
“Whoa, hey…” Drew nudged Peter with his elbow.  
“What?”  
  
  
“See that girl over there… She keeps giving me the eye…”  
“What girl?” Peter asked, looking in the direction that Drew had indicated.  
“The one with the purple in her hair…”  
  
  
Peter found the girl he meant. “… Cute enough.” He replied, his eyes looking her over. She looked about their age but he didn’t think she was an initiate. She was probably either a year older or younger then. She was slim and decent looking. He nodded, turning his eyes on Drew. “What’s your plan?”  
“I don’t know… What do you think I should do?”  
“No idea.”  
“Well, I mean Dauntless girls are different to Candor girls, aren’t they?” Drew frowned, “How do you pick up Dauntless girls?”  
“Probably some act of stupidity.” Peter muttered, biting into his hamburger.  
“If she’s already giving you the eye she’s already interested.” Molly said, rolling her eyes.  
“So, I should just talk to her then?”  
“What are you, twelve?” Molly asked.  
“No.” Drew snapped.  
“Back home you had no problem… You went through girl after girl…”  
“ _Candor_ girls.” He clarified.  
“And we are what? Some weird other species…?”  
“Pretty much, yeah.” Drew said easily.  
Molly shot to her feet. “Screw you.” She snapped, turning and storming away.  
  
  
Peter looked at Drew who just blinked. “…What’d I say?” his friend asked.  
“Think about it.” Peter muttered, shaking his head.  
“Is she pissed or something?”  
Peter sighed, “What are you going to do about the Dauntless chick?”  
“Go talk to her I guess?”  
“Good idea. When?”  
“When we’re done eating…?”  
“Great.”  
“Are you going to come with me?”  
“Do you need me to?”  
“Maybe…”  
“What for?”  
“To make me look all desirable and stuff…”  
Peter snorted. “And my presence would do that how, exactly?”  
“You could say good things about me…? And the girls have always liked you…” Drew looked at him, “It’s something about your face…”  
“You mean my face is better than yours?” He smirked  
“Well… the ladies seem to think so…” Drew said, raising an eyebrow.  
“Well, like you said, Dauntless girls are different. None of them have looked at me since we’ve been here but you’re getting the eye from that one over there… so maybe they consider you Hot Stuff.” Peter watched as Drew thought about that. He had to resist a laugh when his friend’s expression changed to one of wonder. There was no way girls would prefer Drew over him, no matter what faction they were in.  
  
  
“Guess we’ll find out.” Drew mused, grinning at him. “Hey, did you hear there is gonna be a food delivery tomorrow?”  
“Who would I possibly hear that off?” Peter asked, deadpan.  
“I don’t know. I heard it. But anyway, you know what that means…?”  
“What?”  
“Amity chicks.”  
“Ah…”  
Drew winked at him. “You know what they say about Amity girls...?”  
“I know what _you_ say about Amity girls…” He said, looking at his friend.  
“Yeah. Way easy.” Drew laughed.  
“I suppose they’d have to be to screw you.” He smirked. Drew punched him in the arm.  
“You’re just jealous that you never got one to go near you!”  
“I was unaware we were in competition.”  
“Yeah? Well, let’s go then!” Drew exclaimed, grinning widely at him, “Tomorrow we’ll both try to pick up an Amity girl… Whoever gets the hottest one wins!”  
“Really?” Peter asked “We’re trying to get through initiation and you want to waste time on that?”  
“Sure. We need something to vent a little frustration…” Drew shrugged, pulling his hamburger apart. “Are you in?”  
“I don’t know.”Peter shrugged nonchalantly, “I’ll have to get a look at them first…”  
“Ugh.” Drew sighed, “If you weren’t so picky, you’d get a lot more arse.”  
“Yeah well, I have standards…” Peter retorted, “In this at least.”  
  
  
“Yeah, well that’s your loss.” Drew said, pushing his plate away from himself. “I’m going to go talk to the purple chick.”  
“You don’t need me, then?”  
“Nope. I’ve decided that I’m better at this than you.”  
Peter couldn’t hold in a snort of laughter. Drew gave him a piercing look.  
“Okay…” Peter pushed his own plate away from himself. “You go try to get it on with the purple girl, and I’m going to go and try to get some sleep.”  
“Yeah, okay, Grandpa.” Drew smirked.  
“Whatever. I had a long day.”  
“Oh, yeah… I forgot. You did get your arse handed to you by Edward.”  
  
  
Peter got to his feet silently. Drew did the same and clapped him on the back. “You’ll get him next time, Pete.”  
“There’s not going to be a next time.” He muttered. Drew’s eyes narrowed, looking at him.  
“What’re you thinking?”  
“Never mind. Go talk to the girl. I’ll tell you later when I’ve had a chance to think a bit.”  
“Yeah, okay…”  
  
  
Peter nodded and turned on his heel, heading for the exit. Casting a single glace over his shoulder, he saw Drew heading for the table where the girl with the purple hair was sitting with some of her friends. He had no idea how his friend would fare with that endeavour. It really was hit or miss with Drew.  
Upon entering the dorm, Peter found that Molly was the only one in there so far. She was curled on her bunk, her back to the rest of the room. That suited him just fine. He grabbed his stuff and headed to the bathroom for a shower.  
  
  
Stepping under the water, Peter closed his eyes. He could feel his muscles relax almost instantly. He knew he’d be sore tomorrow but he’d still need to work them a bit if he was to avoid becoming too stiff. That would likely mean training on his own because, if Drew was right and there was going to be a food delivery, they probably wouldn’t be fighting. Dipping his head forward, Peter let the hot water fall on the back of his neck without challenge. Reaching a hand out, he pressed it to the wall and closed his eyes for a few minutes. Standing under the water in the shower was one of the few places he was able to relax since he’d come to Dauntless.  
  
  
He’d had just about enough of this initiation thing. The whole thing would be so much simpler without Edward. He’d heard that Edward had been studying fighting since he was a kid. How was he meant to beat an Erudite who had studied something like that for fun his whole life? The guy had an unfair advantage, and he definitely needed to do something about it.  
  
  
Once he’d washed himself down, Peter got out of the shower and dried himself off. By the time he’d dressed and walked back to the dorm, Edward and Myra were climbing into their own bunks.  
  
  
“How are you feeling, Peter?” Edward smirked, “A little sensitive? A bit sore?”  
  
  
“Not are sore as you’re going to be?” He muttered, throwing him a dirty look. Edward just snickered. Peter turned away from him and fluffed his pillow for a moment before climbing onto the thin mattress. The guy needed to be brought down a peg or two. “An eye for an eye…” he murmured, turning onto his side and pulling his blanket over himself. What a great idea…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Peter awoke in the morning and groaned as he stretched. Swinging his legs around off the side of his bunk he rubbed his eyes before getting to his feet. Bending, he pulled on some pants and found a clean shirt. Nearby, Tris had just gotten up and was rubbing her hands over her face.

“Nice hair, Stiff.” He commented. Her blue eyes flicked to his and she raised a hand to her hair which was sticking up in all directions.

“Nice bruise, Peter.” She replied. Involuntarily, his hand jumped to his jaw where Edward had given him the final blow yesterday. He’d known it would bruise. He turned away from her.

He heard Christina give a sharp laugh but by the time he had looked back around the both of them had walked out. 

“Did Drew come back last night?”

Peter looked around to see Molly standing nearby. He gave a light shrug. “I have no idea. I haven’t seen him.” He watched as she frowned.

“…I don’t think he did.” She murmured

“He must have gotten lucky, then.”

“Uh…” She stopped and swallowed. “Right.” She said briskly. “Great.” She ran her hands over her pants. “Breakfast time, then.”

Peter nodded and followed her out the door and toward the warm smell of food. “Apparently the Amity are bringing food…”

“Yeah, I heard that yesterday.” Molly said, turning her head to look at him. “We will probably have to unload everything…”

Peter nodded. That seemed like the sort of thing Eric would make them do. He smiled when a thought crossed his mind. Maybe he could get a little extra training in while the rest of the initiates were unloading potatoes. That would be much more worth his time. He certainly didn’t transfer to Dauntless to carry groceries. He would have gone to Amity if he wanted to do that. Nodding to himself, Peter tried to figure out when he would slip away from the others. He figured that the best time would probably be after he had eaten. That would make the most sense. It was most likely that they would be told during breakfast that they were to spend a good part of the day carrying supplies from the Amity trucks inside to the kitchens. He could then slip away after they had eaten and while the others were heading outside. He supposed it would be easy enough. If anyone asked what he was doing he could always say the he was just going to the bathroom and that he would catch up. The last thing he wanted was to spend the day with a bunch of banjo strumming softies.

*

Aurelia chewed her lip as they approached the Dauntless compound. She had only been inside once before. She had come the year before when she was an Amity initiate. The Dauntless had been rude and crass and she hadn’t liked them very much. She doubted that they had changed.

“Stop biting your lip.” The girl beside her told her, giving her a light nudge with her elbow. Aurelia turned to look at her.

“I can’t help it, Anni.” She told her. “You remember how they were last year.”

“Yeah…”

Aurelia nodded; she didn’t need to elaborate. Anni had been with the group that had come the year before. They’d both been initiates at the same time, though they had been best friends long before that; their whole lives in fact. Neither of them had been to Dauntless before last year and the people had made quite an unfavourable impression on both of the girls. Releasing her lip from between her teeth, Aurelia turned her nervous anxiety on her hair, twisting a long dark lock between her fingers. Anni nudged her again.

 

“There it is.” Her friend whispered and Aurelia looked out the truck window. She remained silent as they approached an ugly looking structure. Beside her, Anni sat up straighter and tied her golden hair back into a high ponytail. “Okay, here we go…”

Aurelia nodded and looked toward Anni’s father, Valen, who was driving the truck. He parked and turned the engine off.

“Alright, girls.” He said, “The plan is that we get everything off the trucks first and then it all has to go inside to wherever the Dauntless want it. They are meant to have some of their people come and help.” He smiled at them, “So, if we just do our bit then the Dauntless will have what they need and we will be able to go home.”

Opening the door, Aurelia jumped down to the cement and gave a quick nod while Anni replied with a light “Yes, Dad.” The blonde girl then jumped down out of the truck, collided with Aurelia and sent her stumbling out across the cement and into the nearby fence. “Crap. Sorry Lia.” She laughed.

“All good.” Aurelia replied, straightening up and smoothing her yellow skirt down. Anni attempted to dust her off, muttering further apologies until they heard unabashed laughter whereupon both girls turned to see a group of Dauntless standing nearby and watching them.

“What up, Amity?” 

Aurelia looked at the red headed boy who had yelled at them. The self satisfied smirk he wore looked particularly unkind.

“Ugh. Ignore then.” Anni said, taking Aurelia’s hand. “Let’s get started.”

Valen opened the back of the truck and Anni climbed up into it. A group of the Dauntless came over and pairs of them climbed into the various trucks that were being opened. It was only moments before bags of food were being lifted and passed down from the trucks.

Once the trucks were empty everybody grabbed a bag and started to carry them inside. Aurelia was glad that living in Amity was nothing like Dauntless. The Dauntless lived without light. Everything was dark and confusing and it was like a maze in there. More than once she was glad that she was following somebody who knew where they were going. She was sure that without a guide she would get lost.

She was proven right when, after one particularly heavy delivery to the kitchen, she asked one of the Dauntless where the closest bathroom was. The girl had pointed vaguely down a narrow corridor and said “Down there and to the left…”

Aurelia went _down there and to the left_ but didn’t find a bathroom. She went back a bit and tried a door to the right. Still no bathroom. She tried a nearby hallway and walked a little further down it, trying various doors and taking further corridors until she eventually did find a bathroom.

She had just come out of the bathroom and blinked, looking up and down the hallways wondering which way she was meant to take to get back, when a hand roughly grabbed her upper arm and pulled her around.

“What are you doing down here?”

“Ow…” Aurelia looked up to see a young man with long dark hair and cold eyes looking down at her.

“Are you deaf?” He asked, his hand tightening on her arm.

“No…” She winced, “I had to go to the bathroom…”

“It’s pretty stupid to go snooping around here…”

“I wasn’t!” She protested, trying to pull her arm free, but there was no escaping his grip. “I just went to the bathroom…”

“You! Initiate!” Aurelia looked around to see another Dauntless boy had entered the hallway. This one was just as tall as the heavily pierced man holding onto her, his hair was shorter, however, and his wide green eyes looked far kinder. The man holding onto her beckoned the boy forward, “Take this girl back to where she should be… Where you both should be…” He growled the last part and Aurelia watched as the boy’s wide eyes grew wider. “Come on!”

*

Peter stared at Eric, hoping he wasn’t going to punish him for not being where he should be. He then turned his eyes on the girl that Eric was holding on to in what looked like a rather painful way. His eyes moved over her from her long dark hair to the red top and long yellow skirt she was wearing. She was clearly one of the Amity girls. He moved toward them and when he was close enough the girl was thrust toward him and he clasped a hand around her wrist. He didn’t hurt her like Eric had been doing. “Come on…” He said, pulling her up the hallway and away from Eric. She looked like she was almost close to tears and when they’d turned the corner at the end of the hallway he released her wrist. Her hand jumped immediately to rub her upper arm where Eric had been holding her.

Looking her over again, Peter smiled slightly. His conversation with Drew from last night went through his mind briefly. This girl was attractive enough. Her long dark hair framed her face nicely and curled at the ends. Her skin was lighter than most of the other Amity members he had come across before, as if she didn’t spend as much time outside as the rest.

“Are you an Amity initiate?” He asked her. Deep green eyes looked up at him.

“No.” she replied, shaking her head slightly. “I was last year.” He looked her over again. She barely came to his shoulders. He wouldn’t have thought she was older than he was. 

“Were you Amity-born?”

“Yeah, I was.” She murmured. She looked up at him again. “Were you Dauntless-born?”

“No. I transferred from Candor.”

“Ah… Who was that guy?” She asked, gesturing back behind them.

“Eric. He’s one of the Dauntless leaders.”

“That guy is a leader? He looks barely older than us.”

“It’s not uncommon here.” He watched her. She no longer looked as if she were about to cry. “This way…” he said, placing a hand on her back and steering her down a different corridor. She continued to rub at her arm. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine… What’s your name?”

“Peter.” He looked at her, “What’s yours?”

“Aurelia.”

Peter eyed her silently. He was fairly certain that her presence had pissed Eric off enough for him to ignore the fact that Peter had disobeyed him. He couldn’t exactly thank her for that, though. “… what were you doing?” he asked, “To piss Eric off?”

“Nothing.” She replied, “He thought I was snooping. I wasn’t.”

“And he didn’t believe you?” He asked, “Because the Amity will lie to avoid conflict?”

She looked sharply at him. “That’s a very Candor thing to say.” She said and he shrugged lightly. “Why did you transfer?”

“Lying is useful.” He answered.

“It can be a necessity.” She murmured

“Then we agree.” He said lightly. Her green eyes flicked to him once more but she remained silent. “So what were you doing?”

“I had to go to the bathroom.” She said shortly. He nodded and used his hand to guide her into the next hallway. His eyes flicked to her in surprise when a small skip entered her step. It seemed as if the usual light mood he had always associated with the Amity was returning to her. “Do you like Dauntless, Peter?” She asked him.

“Most of the time.” He replied. She turned her head to look at him, one of her eyebrows raised. “…I… fit in better with the people here than I did in Candor…”

“Because you lie?”

“Yes.” He blinked the instant the word was out of his mouth. He’d been more of a Candor while talking to her than he had in a long time, even back home. He hadn’t lied once to her. Aurelia simply nodded and continued up the hallway, a constant bounce now in her step. She hadn’t reacted the way he was used to people reacting to an admission of lying. Usually he was greeted with contempt or even disgust. She had just accepted it without as much as batting an eyelid in way of reaction. Intriguing. Were all the Amity like that? He hadn’t really talked to many of them for very long.

“Do you like Amity?” he asked

“Yes. I love Amity.” She replied, smiling at him. 

“You fit in there?”

“It’s home.” She replied evenly. He looked at her. Evasion. 

“You didn’t answer my question…”

“Still a Candor, then?” She asked.

“Hardly.”

She looked back at him and made a face. “You don’t need to be exactly like everybody else to fit in.” She told him “I am not like everybody else at Amity. Nor are they all alike. I do belong there, however. I feel comfortable there. It’s peaceful. It is home.”

Peter never thought that Amity would sound appealing to him. Perhaps it was just the stress of initiation. He had always wanted to be Dauntless, and he would be. Just because he’d enjoyed talking to this Amity girl for five minutes and had found what she had to say interesting, didn’t mean that anything was going to change. Becoming a full member of Dauntless was still his goal and he would achieve it.

“Here’s the door…” He said, pushing open a door in the wall. Bright sunlight hit them both in the face and they both winced and raised a hand to protect their eyes.

“Ugh. How do you stand the constant dark?” She asked, rubbing her arm once more. Peter looked at her in the sunlight and noticed the fingerprint marks on her arm that were already beginning to show up in a purple bruise.

“Just have to get used to it.” He answered as they walked toward the Amity trucks nearby. Aurelia stopped at one and opened it before pulling a red knitted cardigan out. She slipped it on silently, covering the bruise. She wanted to conceal what happened from the other Amity, he realised. She met his gaze as she buttoned it up and in the light he noticed that her deep green eyes were actually emerald.

“Don’t say anything.” She told him.

“I won’t…” He shook his head, not knowing why he had just agreed so quickly. What reason did he have to help her? After a moment’s consideration he realised that keeping it quiet would also help Eric which in turn could benefit himself. Feeling more comfortable with that idea, he turned away from the truck. “Alright… Here you go.”

Aurelia walked past him to where a blonde girl was hurrying toward them. “Lia! Where have you been?” She cried, throwing herself at Aurelia and wrapping her arms around her for a moment before releasing her once more.

“I got lost.” Aurelia replied, adjusting the sleeves of her cardigan around her wrists.

“Oh.” The blonde girl looked her over and then turned on him. “…who is this?”

“This is Peter.” Aurelia told her, “He showed me the way back.”

The blonde girl smiled widely at him. “That was kind of you.”

Peter just nodded, deciding not to speak. This girl was somewhat irritating. She seemed far more like the stereotype he had envisioned of the Amity girls than Aurelia had.

“So,” Aurelia cut in, “Are we ready to go home…?”

“Oh…” The girl replied, “You missed it.”

“Missed what?”

“We were told that the Factionless have set up some sort of camp that blocks our way out… they’re causing some problems and some of the Dauntless have gone to try and resolve the issue… But until that’s done we can’t get home… so we have to stay the night.”

“Here?” Aurelia asked, “We have to stay here?”

“Yes.”

Peter looked at the horrified look on Aurelia’s face and he watched as her hand lifted to rub her arm once more. It was easy to tell that the thought of staying anywhere near Eric made her uncomfortable. Her eyes found his and for a moment he almost reached out to touch her. Once he squashed that desire, he gestured for them both to follow him when he noticed that the other Amity were being directed into the compound. “Come on,” he said, “They’ll be showing you where you’ll be sleeping.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Aurelia followed the other Amity into the dorm room they were shown. Looking around at the bunk beds, she shook her head. She couldn’t imagine a more depressing place to live. At least it would only be for the night. She hoped.

“Here, let’s have this one.” Anni said, pulling her over to a bunk in the corner. Aurelia sat on the bottom one with a sigh. They’d been told that they were to all share a single dorm room. There was a bathroom with showers just up the hallway and they were to all share that too. They were free to spend their time in here or go down to the Pit with the rest of the Dauntless and they were to join the Dauntless for dinner later that evening. She looked up when Anni stood in front of her.

“So…” Her friend began, “That Peter guy…”

“What of him?” Aurelia asked

“He was pretty good looking…”

“I suppose he was.”

“Oh, come on, Lia!” Anni said, sitting beside her with a flounce, “You’re meant to give me details…”

“Details of what?” She asked, “There’s nothing to tell you. I got lost. He showed me how to get out…”

“So what?” Anni pressed, “You just came across him in the hallway?”

“Yep.” She nodded “Pretty much.”

“Well…” Anni pouted, “That’s not as interesting as I had hoped.”

Aurelia looked at her with a smile. “Sorry about that.” She told her friend.

“Yeah, well… I mean you could try harder.” Anni smirked at her, “Next time you come across a good looking guy, consider the story you’re going to have to tell me and try your hardest to make sure it’s interesting, will you?”

Aurelia laughed, thankful to Anni for trying to make her feel more comfortable. “I’ll try.” She told her.

“Good.” Anni replied, as she got to her feet. “Now, we have free time to check this place out. I want to go check out this Pit thing.” 

“Alright…” Aurelia groaned as her friend pulled her to her feet.

*

 

“Hey!” Drew’s voice echoed up the hallway and Peter turned to see his redheaded friend running toward him. “Where have you been?”

“I was doing stuff…” He replied, continuing up the hall when Drew had reached him.

“How awesome is this?” his friend said, “A bunch of Amity delivered straight to us. It’s too perfect.”

“You get lucky with the purple girl then?”

Drew snickered “You’d better believe it.”

“I do.” Peter replied, trying particularly hard not to picture it.

Drew laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, “So now… Amity chicks.” He said, “I tried to talk to some earlier but we were too busy. I thought I’d miss my chance but with the Factionless kicking up a stink… They could be here for a few days…”

“Or just tonight.” Peter put in.

“Yeah, true… But that still gives us all night with them.” Drew winked at him, “Did you see any hot ones?”

Peter gave a nonchalant shrug, “One or two.” He replied.

“I heard some of them are in the Pit.” Drew said, “Wanna go check it out?”

Peter suddenly pictured Drew cornering Aurelia in the Pit and frowned. The thought disturbed him, though he didn’t see why it should. Not that he figured she would be interested in Drew; he didn’t think that would stop his friend, however. He quickened his step a moment later when he then pictured Eric cornering her.

They rounded a corner together and then entered the Pit. Peter had never seen it so crowded before. “Well,” Drew began with a laugh, “they do stand out.”

“Yeah…” Peter agreed, looking around. The Amity did indeed stand out, a mass of colour in a sea of black.

“Check that one out!” Drew said, nudging him in the ribs. Peter looked where Drew was indicating. There was a group of about five Amity girls standing nearby.

“… Be more specific.” He said drily. 

“The one with honey hair…” Drew replied, smoothing his own red hair down. “Think she’d go for me?”

“I don’t know, Drew.” He replied, his eyes scanning the Pit.

“Who are you looking for?”

“This girl I met earlier…” He said absently.

“Was she hot?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“Amity?” Drew asked, looking the crowd over again. Peter craned his neck, trying to see around people.

“What?” He asked, distracted, “Oh, yeah.” He nodded, “She’s Amity.”

“You like her?” Drew asked mildly. Peter looked at him sharply.

“What makes you ask that?”

“There’s a whole room full of Amity chicks and you’re looking for this specific one…” Drew replied, running a hand through his hair again. Peter shrugged.

“She was interesting.”

“Yeah, whatever.” His friend snickered, “You laid the groundwork, didn’t you… You just don’t want to have to start again. You want to win our competition.”

Peter thought about that. Could he win? If he found Aurelia again, he’d certainly like to try and find out. She was prettier than at least half these other Amity girls. It was possible. He rolled his sleeves up, still looking around. He mostly just wanted to make sure that Eric didn’t get hold of her again. It was because of her that Eric had overlooked the fact that he had disobeyed him and he had escaped punishment. He would make sure that she was spared another run in with the older man. He owed her that.

She caught his attention the moment she walked into the Pit. He watched as she was pulled along by her blonde friend, laughing.

“Hello, Blondie…” Drew said, turning toward the entrance. Peter glanced at him to see he was looking at Aurelia’s friend. “Come on, I wanna talk to this one…”

“Mhm.” He murmured, following his friend through the crowd.

“Are you enjoying your stay, ladies?” Drew asked when he was close enough to the girls. Peter watched as Aurelia’s green eyes looked at Drew and then flicked to him. She gave a small smile.

“Yes, thank you.” The blonde girl answered.

“Great.” Drew said, “I’m Drew and this is Peter…”

“Anni” The girl answered, “And Aurelia.”

“Gorgeous.” Drew commented and Peter rolled his eyes. He’d never understood how his friend had gotten anywhere with girls acting the way he did.

“…So what do you guys do here for fun?” Anni asked. Drew turned to him.

“Well,” Peter said, thinking about it. “We’re still going through initiation, so we don’t really have all that much free time… But so far a few of us have gone to get a tattoo… But that seems to be about making oneself look more Dauntless… The girls seem to do the shopping thing… but mainly it’s just hanging out and doing adrenaline junkie things… That and fighting one another…” He watched Anni raise an eyebrow and exchange a look with Aurelia.

“You guys should come stay at Amity for a while.” She said, “We’d show you fun.”

“I’ll just bet you would.” Drew grinned. Peter watched the expressions on the two girls’ faces go from friendly to wary and just a little bit creeped out.

“Easy, Drew…” He said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “Don’t scare them away, now.” He looked back down to Aurelia to see her looking past him, her eyes growing wider as her face appeared to drain of colour. Turning, Peter spotted Eric approaching them. When only a metre or so away, Eric’s dark eyes flicked to them and he stopped beside Peter.

“Ah.” Eric said, his cold eyes sweeping over them and coming to rest on Aurelia. “I trust you know your way between the dining hall and your dorm…?” he asked, “There should be no reason for you to get lost… again.”

Peter looked at the colour Aurelia had turned and stepped in front of her, looking at Eric. “I’ve got it covered.” He said, “I’ll make sure she’s where she is meant to be.” 

Eric’s cold eyes turned on him and Peter tried his best to keep his expression neutral. “Good to see you doing what you’re told to.” Eric said, before adding “So now, if she’s found anywhere she shouldn’t be, I’ll hold you responsible.”

“…Yeah.” Peter just about choked out as Eric turned and walked away without a further word.

“He scares the crap out of me…” Drew commented. “But he’s so awesome.”

Peter turned back around to face them and gestured across the Pit. “How about we go and get some dinner…”

“Great idea.” Drew agreed, leading them across the Pit. Anni followed after him quickly. Peter strode after them and looked down at a hand on his arm.

“Thank you.” Aurelia said softly. “That was… kind… of you. I hadn’t taken the Dauntless to be kind.”

“It wasn’t kindness.” He told her. “You distracted him from me earlier. I distracted him from you just now. Now we’re even.”

“That’s very black and white.” She murmured, “You transferred _out_ of Candor, remember?”

“I don’t think we ever truly stop being what we were.” He replied, watching as she inclined her head slightly.

“We can try.” She answered. “I think that’s the point of everything. Trying.”

“Sometimes there is no point.” He murmured, “Sometimes, people just don’t have what it takes to change no matter how much they wish they could. They just don’t have it in them.”

She made a small noise and he looked down at her again. “Sometimes,” She said, “They just need somebody else to see it in them and tell them they can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A review would really make my day, guys. I’d love to know what your impressions are. I’m flying blind, here.  
> A nice slice of Dauntless Chocolate Cake for everyone who drops a review.


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